Conventional approaches to displaying information from multiple sensors require a map of the environment to which the information pertains and data regarding the coordinates of each sensor. Generally data from each sensor is obtained and compiled by way of a user interface, and the data is then displayed relative to a map in the possession of a user. The data may be superimposed onto the map at locations corresponding to the position of each sensor.
Drawbacks to these approaches include the requirement of a coordinate system that allows a correspondence between features on the map and features in the environment. Further, the position of each sensor must be known relative to the map. Accordingly, the position of each sensor is generally indexed within the coordinate system so that the relative position of each sensor is known and, thereby, the relevance of the data obtained by each particular sensor can then be ascertained.
There are numerous instances where a user is either unable to obtain a map of the environment, or is unable to obtain a map that is accurate enough to facilitate the coordination of gathered data with the map.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a means for obtaining data from the environment whereby the data could be coordinated with the sites of data collection without the need for a map.